Salted caramel sauce with passion fruit salt

Ingredients

• 200 g sugar
• 60 ml water
• 120 ml whipping cream, at room temperature
• 60 g butter, diced
• 1/2 tsp Xalte Passion Fruit salt

Method

1. 1Before you turn on the hob, have everything measured and within reach: the cream, the diced butter and the salt. Caramel changes very quickly at the end and leaves no time to prepare anything; the cream must be at room temperature, because cold cream spits far more.
2. 2Put the sugar and water in a heavy-based pan with tall sides, about 2 litres, because the sauce rises a lot when the cream goes in. Stir only until all the sugar is wet and put the pan over a medium heat.
3. 3Cook without stirring with a spoon, because the sugar hardens into lumps; if one side darkens first, swirl the pan by its handle. It boils clear at first and, after 8 to 10 minutes, turns golden and then amber, like dark honey.
4. 4As soon as it is amber, take the pan off the heat: if it darkens further or smells burnt, it turns bitter. Do not taste or touch the caramel, because it is hotter than 150 °C.
5. 5Add the cream in three goes, stirring with a long-handled whisk after each one. Do this carefully, with your face and hands well back, because it bubbles up hard and gives off steam.
6. 6Mix in the butter and the 1/2 tsp of Xalte Passion Fruit salt, and stir until the sauce is smooth and glossy. If any pieces of hard caramel are left, put the pan back over a low heat for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring, until they dissolve.
7. 7Leave the sauce to cool in the pan for 10 minutes; it looks thin, but it thickens as it cools. Pour it into a clean glass jar and, once cold, put the lid on and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
8. 8To serve, warm the amount you need for a few seconds in the microwave until it is runny again, and spoon it over ice cream or other desserts.